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Chapter 25
By the time Talin and I returned to the kitchen, everyone had vacated the room. Scrambled eggs on bread remained on a plate, and Talin had already helped himself, and I joinedhim.
“Where are they?” Had they transformed? There wasn’t any roaring from deeper in the house and they would have busted in on us in the other room if they’d turned. Part of me worried that they listened in on Talin and me doing more than just kissing… Were they pissed or jealous? I struggled to keep my emotions in check or understand what the men thought about our relationships. Not that I’d call it that, yet the idea of losing them left me hollow. Which was stupid, yet in their company, they made me happier than I’d been in the longest time. They calmed me, had me laughing, aroused me to no end, and I adored our conversations. But none of that would matter if I didn’t find a solution. The full moon arrived tonight, and a shiver grippedme.
Talin smacked his lips with food and was at my side, embracing me. “You lookpale.”
I nodded but said, “I’m fine; just need to eat.” Trepidation wormed through me, and I ate my meal, staring at the herb book still there fromyesterday.
Talin’s strong hand rubbed my back, and he pulled up next to me and dragged my chair with me in it closer to him. “We’re all scared of tonight. But we’ve got eachother.”
“What if we fail?” My throat tightened, and panic clawed up my spine. I fumbled with the cord on my dress. “You all die and I turn into Lilita forever, killing everyone in my path.” Hiccupping, I blinked fast to keep the tears at bay. This wasn’t the time to break down or lose myself to what-ifs. Yeah, my logical brain made easy sense of the obvious, yet my heart bled, and I gasped for air to fill my strangledlungs.
“Take slow breaths. You’re not alone. The four of us adore you so much, Bee. More than you could imagine and in the past few days, you’ve touched each of us in different ways. I can’t speak for the others, but I’m falling for you.” His voice deepened and took on a serioustone.
I lifted my chin, his face blurring behind tears. “Goddess. Why would you say that when I’m already struggling with losing you?” Whatever happens, I wasn’t an idiot to think the princes of White Peak would take a mere human as their partner and share me. I almost laughed out loud at how ridiculous it sounded. I’d be the luckiest woman in the world if I had one of these men in my life, yet I cried for allfour.
Talin wrapped me in a warm embrace of his chest and arms. “You’ve got the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever met. That’s one reason I’m drawn toyou.”
I softened against his hard muscles, adoring his way he ran his hand over myhead.
He was right… time wasn’t on our side, and as much I wanted to hide and pretend we weren’t up against the odds, I had to pull myself together. With a deep breath, I looked up at Talin. He studied me with a smile that reached hiseyes.
“Remember,” he said. “No matter what happens, you’ve already won over our hearts. There’s nothing you can do that will disappointus.”
I nodded and wiped my eyes. “Thank you.” Dozens of ideas fluttered across my mind, but they blended into a fog. This wasn’t an ordinary transformation. The hex came with an expiration date—they were all going to die when the full moon reached its highest point in the night sky unless I stopped it. Would my efforts beenough?
Talin kissed my wet cheeks and climbed to his feet, taking my hand in his. He consoled me, yet he was about to lose everything, his family line wiped out, and his brothersgone.
The time for feeling sorry for myself ended now. “I’m going herb hunting in the greenhouse. Hoping to find sage and rue.” I hugged him. “Thankyou.”
“I’ll find the others and we’ll meet you in the library. We have books on every topic in the world. There has to be an answer we haven’t thought ofyet.”
By the time I trekked outdoors and entered the glass house, the snowy iciness on my skin melted. Vegetables, fruit trees, ripe vines, and other greenery surrounded me, some covered by a white cloth to help the plants avoidfrostbite.
Once I reached the two bronze benches where I’d first met Ash, I searched the rows of plants around me, surprised by the lack of herbs. I eyed the wooden stem of the roses Ash had planted in a dozen pots. They huddled close near the glass wall. His belief was that one day they’d grow again—it was a way for him to connect with his lost family members on an emotional level, I assumed. And I understood, as I still kept Mom’s button collection. For no reason other than she collected them and every time I stuck my hands in the jar, I’d hear her in my ear telling me not to dropthem.
I crouched down next to a stem and prodded the soil. Dark and moist. Looked healthy. The outer layer of the stem remained green, as if it were fresh. If Ash was right, and these were ten years old, then there had to be magic still in the flowers from when they’d first beencreated.
The stem was bumpy under mytouch.
“A complete waste of time,” Ash grumbled from behindme.
I flinched, and my finger pricked a thorn. “Ouch.” With my cut finger in my mouth, I tasted the coppery flavor and lifted myself to faceAsh.
“You okay?” heasked.
“Damn thing stabbed me.” I showed him my injury and it must have been deep, as a fresh droplet rolled down my skin. Ash was there, and he kissed the tip of my cut and licked itclean.
He brushed past me and crouched near the flower. “Got to be careful. Some still havethorns.”
I joined him, gawking at my blood snaking down the stem in slow motion. The soil hungrily absorbedit.
Ash nodded, inspecting his plant with such dedication. He loved those roses, and his passion made me adore him evenmore.
When he looked my way, I stole a kiss. “You’re so cute,” I said. “But your glasshouse is missingsomething.”
“And what’s that?” He tilted his head to the side, studying my lips. Was he considering kissingme?
